Since the conclusion of the historic 2008 presidential race, I have been following this election closely, and I am proud to endorse Sen. R. Creigh Deeds to be Virginia’s next governor. In these troubling economic times, we need a governor who is focused on creating good jobs in the commonwealth and helping to revive the state and national economy. Deeds’s plan for economic recovery builds on the plans of his predecessors, which made this state the best for doing business.

Deeds is also open to every avenue to fixing Northern Virginia’s broken transportation system. And he has had the political courage to come out and say that while he does not plan to raise taxes, doing so may be necessary to fix this critical problem.
Deeds’s opponent, Robert F. McDonnell, has not shown that he is any different from typical Republican politicians who distort the Democrats’ proposals while offering few alternatives of their own, and I believe he is concealing his far-right, out-of-the-mainstream views.

Sen. Deeds, in contrast, is an avowed moderate who will work with Republicans to get things done in Richmond.
The writer is a member of the University Democrats club at the University of Virginia.

To submit your own endorsement, write to letters@washpost.com with “My Endorsement” in the subject line. Include your party identification, if any, as well as how you voted in Virginia’s last governor’s race. Finally, please include a day and evening phone number (not for publication) and a note disclosing any connection you have to Sen. R. Creigh Deeds or Robert F. McDonnell, their campaigns or the Democratic or Republican parties.